The Trail / Winter at St. Louis

Winter at St. Louis

December 1803 to May 1804

During the winter at St. Louis, everything needed to converge. William Clark mostly attended to the new recruits at camp on the Wood River, several miles north of St. Louis, where they were molded into a cohesive military corps. In St. Louis and Cahokia, Meriwether Lewis gathered intelligence for President Thomas Jefferson, and worked with local merchants and the U.S. Army to acquire provisions, boatmen, and diplomatic gifts for the Native Nations that they expected to encounter. Finally, as per the Louisiana Purchase, the transfer of Upper Louisiana from Spain to France and then to the United States needed formalizing. They could not head up the Missouri until all was ready, 14 May 1804.

 

The Story

    Synopsis Part 1

    Washington City to Fort Mandan

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    The Corps of Discovery, as it would be called, or the “corps of volunteers for North Western Discovery,” as Lewis put it, epitomized the rising glory of the United States—its sense of limitless possibilities and unparalleled opportunities.

    Outfitting the Expedition

    Buying supplies in Philadelphia and St. Louis

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    Large bales wrapped in canvas and stacked high

    The original shopping list contained more than 180 items, including various “Mathematical Instruments”, arms and accouterments, ammunition, clothing, camp equipage, provisions, Indian presents, medicine, and packing materials.

    St. Louis

    Gateway to the west

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    In 1804 and in the presence of the Lewis and Clark expedition the little village, built and designed to be an outpost of the fur trade, shed its ambiguous Spanish-French parentage and took on full American citizenship.

    The Mouth of the Missouri

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    The Missouri River still contributes its tint a few miles north of St. Louis. It is difficult to determine exactly how much, and how often, the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers changed during the nine decades after the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

    Wood River by Air

    Starting point

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    Clark recorded: “Capts. Lewis & Clark wintered at the enterance of a Small river opposite the Mouth of Missouri Called wood River, where they formed their party, Composed of robust Young Backwoodsmen of Character.”

    December 16, 1803

    Eight men from Tennessee

    Winter Camp at Wood River, IL Clark sends Sgt. Floyd to Cahokia with letters for Lewis. Samuel Griffith, a local farmer, visits camp. In the evening, Drouillard arrives at Cahokia with eight new recruits brought from a fort in Tennessee.

    December 19, 1803

    Provisions arrive

    Winter Camp, Wood River, Illinois
    Wagons with food and other provisions arrive at winter camp on the Wood River. In Cahokia, Lewis writes a letter to Thomas Jefferson.

    December 25, 1803

    Wood River Christmas

    Winter Camp at Wood River, IL The men celebrate Christmas by drinking, hunting, and frolicking. The visiting Indians heard a rumour that they cannot trade because the Americans now have possession of Louisiana, and Drouillard agrees to join the expedition.

    December 31, 1803

    Discipline problems

    Winter Camp at Wood River, IL Clark addresses problems with excessive drinking. Lewis travels between Cahokia and St. Louis gathering intelligence on the upper Louisiana Territory.

    January 1, 1804

    New Year's shooting contest

    Winter Camp at Wood River, IL Clark stages a shooting contest with the locals and notes that two men (perhaps Reed and Windsor) were drunk. He meets with a new washer woman, and a visitor tells him about the Mandan Indians and their country. The captains begin their weather diaries.

    January 9, 1804

    Visiting Cahokia Mounds

    Winter Camp at Wood River, IL Clark visits ancient Indian mounds. On the way back, his wet feet freeze to his shoes. Lewis is working in either Cahokia or St. Louis.

    Sugaring at River Dubois

    Surrounded by maple trees at Camp Dubois, tapping and boiling the sweet, watery sap until it crystallized into sugar could begin as soon as the days warmed enough to get the sap rising in the trees.

    March 8, 1804

    Announcing Louisiana's transfer

    Wood River Camp, IL Lewis is in Cahokia with Captain Amos Stoddard and his honor guard who are traveling to St. Louis to formally receive the Upper Louisiana Territory. Clark is likely already there.

    March 9, 1804

    Lowering the Spanish, raising the French

    Wood River Camp, IL Lewis serves as a witness to the delivery and receipt of the Upper Louisiana from Spain to France. With speeches and ceremony, the Spanish flag is lowered, and the French flag is raised.

    March 10, 1804

    Lowering the French, raising the American

    Winter Camp at Wood River, IL U.S. Army Captain Amos Stoddard, acting as the representative of France, declares Upper Louisiana as belonging to the United States. The French flag, flying for only one day, is lowered and the American flag raised.

    March 19, 1804

    Intercepting a war party

    Wood River Camp, IL According to the Weather Diary, Clark and Lewis are on a trip to St. Charles in an attempt to prevent a large war party of Kickapoos from attacking the Osages.

    March 29, 1804

    Courts martial

    With both captains now at winter camp at the Wood River across from the mouth of the Missouri, Privates Shields, Colter, and Frazer are tried in the expedition’s first military court.

    April 4, 1804

    Packing provisions

    At camp across from the mouth of the Missouri, Clark has corn, salted pork, flour, and other provisions packed. He also writes a speech for the Iowa Nation to be delivered by trader Lewis Crawford.

    April 15, 1804

    Paying Mrs. Cane

    At winter camp on the River Dubois, Clark pays Mrs. Cane for her services as washerwoman and seamstress. A boat heading up the Mississippi River passes by, and several men hunt or practice shooting.

    Clark’s Military Rank

    An elephant on the trail

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    Lewis had assured Clark that their situations would be identical in every respect, beginning with rank. The fact that Clark was actually a lieutenant was a secret kept throughout the expedition.

    May 8, 1804

    Shakedown cruise

    The barge and a pirogue are taken for a shakedown cruise a few miles up the Mississippi. In New Orleans, the former governor of Spanish Louisiana urges his Commandant General to arrest Meriwether Lewis.

    May 11, 1804

    The boatmen arrive

    At winter camp on the Wood River, Clark spends the day writing. Drouillard brings seven French men, likely St. Charles boatmen who take the red pirogue up the Missouri River.

    January 10, 1805

    Search and rescue

    Fort Mandan, ND Several Mandans search for a boy and a hunter who were out all night expecting them to be frozen to death. Both return to Fort Mandan alive.

Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.